Hitch

ABSTRACT

A hitch for hitching a towed device, such as a trailer, to a towing vehicle such as a pick-up truck, automobile, tractor or the like. The hitch includes a swivel assembly, a ball and pin assembly removably held in the swivel assembly and adapted to be engaged by a socket mounted on a trailer tongue, and a holder retaining a movable portion of the swivel assembly in a fixed position. The ball and pin assembly and the holder are removable to convert the hitch so that it is usable with a tongue having a pin type of arrangement.

United States Patent 51 3,700,263

Day Oct. 24, 1972 [54] HITCH FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Inventor:Leon ay, M mphis, e 302,203 12/ 1917 Germany ..280/415 A [73] Assignees:Richard Routon; James B. Sellers,

Memphis, Tenn. part interest to each Primary Examiner-Leo FriagliaAtt0rney.lohn R. Walker, III

[5 7] ABSTRACT A hitch for hitching a towed device, such as a trailer,to a towing vehicle such as a pick-up truck, automobile, tractor or thelike. The hitch includes a swivel as sembly, a ball and pin assemblyremovably held in the swivel assembly and adapted to be engaged by asocket mounted on a trailer tongue, and a holder retaining a movableportion of the swivel assembly in a fixed position. The ball and pinassembly and the holder are removable to convert the hitch so that it isusable with a tongue having a pin type of arrangement.

5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures HITCH BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Fieldof the Invention This invention relates to a hitch for hitching a toweddevice to a towing vehicle.

2. Description of the Prior Art There are, in general, two widely usedtypes of hitches for hitching a towed device to a towing vehicle. First,there is a type which will be referred to herein as I the pin type andwhich is commonly used with farm implements, such as Spreaders, cottonwagons, disc harrows, planters and the like, and on heavy-dutyequipment. With this type there is generally a clevis at the end of therigid tongue of the towed device which has aligned apertures that arealigned with an aperture on a towing bracket on the towing vehicle and apin is inserted through the apertures. In using a pin type hitch thereare certain disadvantages due to the fact that the tongue can only swinghorizontally about the pivot pin but is held rigid in an upward anddownward direction. This causes vertical forces to be transferredbetween the towed device and the towing vehicle, as for example, whengoing over bumpy roads, ridges, plowed fields and the like.Additionally, strains are placed on the tongue and many times the pinsare broken.

The other general type of hitch is the ball and socket type which has aball attached to the towing vehicle and a socket attached to the tongueof the towed device which fits over the ball and permits swivel movementof the tongue relative to the towing vehicle. This type of hitch is usedwith light trailers, such as boat trailers and the like. It has theadvantage of the swivel connection but has the disadvantage that itcannot be used on heavy equipment since the tongue on heavy equipmentcannot be lifted to place the socket over the ball.

Various other hitches are disclosed in the following patents which werefound as the result of a preliminary search: U.S. Pat. No. 2,125,479,2,668,723; and 3,542,400.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed towardsovercoming the problems and disadvantages of prior hitches. It is aprimary concept of the present inventionto provide a hitch in which thetongue of the towed device, when the hitch is in the pin type mode ofoperation, can swing in universal movement so that it can adjust to anymisalignment up and down as well as side to side of the towed devicewith the towing vehicle, and can be converted quickly and easily to theball and socket type of hitch.

The means by which the above mentioned concept is accomplished is byproviding a swivel assembly including a fixed and a movable portionincluding a tubular portion adapted to receive a pin therethrough,holder means engaging the movable portion for holding the movableportion in a fixed position, and ball and pin assembly means including apin, a ball fixedly attached to the upper end of the pin which isadapted to receive the socket on the tongue of the towed device and nutmeans threaded on the lower end of the pin for clamping the holder meansin a fixed positionwith the pin extending through the tubular portionand with the ball and nut means respectively engaging the opposite endsof the tubular portion. The pin and ball assembly means may be usedportions of the original equipment, as the ball and pin assembly.

A further object is to provide such a hitch that is sealed against dirt,sand, and other foreign substances.

A further object is to provide such a hitch that is fully lubricated toreduce squeaking and. excessive wear.

' A further object is to provide such a hitch that the moving partsthereof can be quickly and easily replaced and without having to replacethe whole unit.

A further object is to provide such a hitch which may be supported by aseparate support bracket attached to the towing vehicle or supporteddirectly from the towing vehicle as by providing a vertical hole throughthe horizontal portion of the bumper of the towing vehicle.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from a reading of the Description of the Preferred Embodiments"disclosed hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of the hitch ofthe present invention shown attached to the towing vehicle, with only aportion of the latter being shown.

FIG. 2 is an enlarge sectional view taken as on the line 11-11 of FIG.1.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to a portion of that shown in FIG. 2 exceptthat the device has been converted to the ball and socket type.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the hitch of the present inventionshown coupling a towed device to a towing vehicle by a pin, withportions of the tongue of the towed device and portions of the towingvehicle being shown and with various positions other than the horizontalposition of the tongue of the towed device being shown in broken lines.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The hitch 11 of the presentinvention comprises in general a swivel assembly 13, a holder 15, a balland pin assembly 17, and support structure, as a support bracket 19. Itwill be understood that this support structure instead of being aseparate piece may be an integral part of the towing vehicle, withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present invention, as will bemore apparent in the description to follow later.

Swivel assembly 13 includes in general an inner movable portion 21 andan outer fixed portion 23. Fixed portion 23 includes an outer ring 25and an inner ring 27. The cylindrical outer surface 29 of outer ring 25closely fits into a vertically extending hole 31 in support bracket 19adjacent the rearward end 33 thereof. Outer ring 25 is provided on theoutside thereof adjacent the upper end thereof with a downwardly facingshoulder 35 which engages the upper face 37 of support bracket 19 tolimit downward movement of the outer ring 25, as best seen in FIG. 2. Asuitable resilient snap lock ring 39 engages outer ring 25 in a groove41 therein adjacent the lower end thereof opposite and spaced fromshoulder 35. Lock ring 39 engages the lower face 43 of bracket 19 toremovably retain outer ring 25 in hole 31.

The outer cylindrical surface 45 of inner ring 27 closely fits in theinterior of outer ring 25, as best seen in FIG. 2. Shoulders 47, 49 arerespectively provided on the outer surface of inner ring 27 and theinner surface of outer ring 25 adjacent the lower ends thereof.Shoulders 47, 49 respectively engage one another to limit downwardmovement of inner ring 27 relative to outer ring 25. A suitableresilient and removable snap lock ring 51 is provided in a groove 52 inthe inner surface of outer ring 25 adjacent the upper end of the.

outer ring in spaced relationship above shoulders 47, 49. Lock ring 51interacts between outer and inner rings 25, 27 limiting upward movementof inner ring 27 relative to outer ring 25 so that the inner ring 27 isremovably retained in outer ring 25. It will be understood that innerand outer rings 27, 25 may be made of one piece integral constructionwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Movable portion 21 includes a tubular portion 53 and a rounded portion55 integrally formed around the tubular portion centrally thereof andintermediate the upper and lower ends thereof. The outer surface 57 ofrounded portion 55 is in the shape of the outer surface of a section ofa sphere. Outer surface 57 movably and slidably engages the innersurface 59 of inner ring 27, which is complementarily shaped relative toouter surface 57 so that the movable portion 21 is swivelly heldrelative to fixed portion 23. The tubular portion 53 extends generallyvertically in spaced relationship above and below fixed portion 23 butmay be tilted in any direction, that is, it has universal movement.

Upper and lower flexible cups 61, 63 are respectively interposed betweenmovable and fixed portions 21, 23 adjacent the upper and lower ends ofswivel assembly 13 to provide upper and lower enclosed chambers 65, 67.More specifically, upper cup 61 is annular in shape and preferablyformed of neoprene. Upper cup 61 is provided with a central opening 69which closely and tightly fits against tubular portion 53. The inturnedouter edge 71 of upper cup 61 fits into a groove 73 provided adjacentthe upper end of outer ring 25. Lower cup 63 is substantially identicalin construction to upper cup 61 but fits around the lower portion oftubular portion 53 and into a groove 75 in the lower part of outer ring25. Grease 77 is preferably provided in upper chamber 65 which works itsway down between the rounded portion 55 and the inner surface 59 to keepthe relatively moving parts properly lubricated.

When the hitch 11 is converted to the ball and socket type ofarrangement, as shown in FIG. 3, the lower cup 63 is removed and holderis placed around the lower part of swivel assembly 13, as shown in FIG.3. The holder 15 is annular and has a central bore 79 which closely fitsover the lower end of tubular portion 53. Holder 15 has a reducedportion 81 at the upper end thereof which closely fits into the lowerend of outer ring 25. The upper end of reduced portion 81 is preferablysloped as at 83 to conform to the lower surface of the inner ring 27.From the foregoing, it can be seen that when in the above describedposition, holder 15 will fixedly retain movable portion 21 in a fixedvertical position, as shown in FIG. 3. Holder 15 is retained in theabove described position by the following means: A ball and pin assembly85, which includes a spherical ball 87, a pin 89 fixedly attached to theball and depending therefrom, and a nut 91 threadedly engaged on thethreaded lower end pin 89, is assembled with swivel assembly 13 andholder 15. In the assembled relationship, ball 87 engages the upper endof tubular portion 53, pin '89 extends downwardly through bore 93 oftubular portion 53, and nut 91 engages the lower end of tubular portion53 and the lower surface of holder 15 to retain the holder in positionwhich in turn keeps movable portion 21 fixed relative to fixed portion23. Therefore, ball 87 is retained fixed relative to movable portion 21,fixed portion 23, and support bracket 19 so that the ball may beutilized with a conventional socket 95 on the end of a tongue 97 whichis apart of the towed device.

It will be understood that the ball 87 must be fixed relative to supportbracket 19, as above described, in order for the device to properlyfunction as a ball and socket type of arrangement since it would'notoperate properly if ball 87 were not secure. Also, it will be understoodthat to convert the hitch 11 from the ball and socket type to the pintype, it is only necessary to remove the ball and pin assembly 85 andthe holder 15 so that the device shown to the left in FIG. 2 isobtained. Also, it is preferable that the lower cup 63 be put back intoplace. To use the hitch 11 as a pin type, it will be understood that theusual clevised tongue 99, as shown in FIG. 4, which hasaligned aperturestherethrough, is brought into place in alignment with bore 93. A pin 101is placed through the aligned apertures in the tongue 99 and through thebore 93 and fastened therein by means of the nut 103. It will beunderstood that the tongue 99 will adjust to the uneven degree of tiltbetween the towed device and the towing vehicle, with various unevendegrees of tilt being shown in broken lines in FIG. 4. With this swivelarrangement there is little danger of breaking the pin 101.

As shown in FIG. 4, the bracket 19 may be welded to a portion 105 of thetowed vehicle, which portion 105 is preferablya horizontal plate usuallyprovided centrally of bumpers in pick-up trucks. However, portion 105may be any other part of the towing vehicle without departing from thespirit and scope of the present invention. Also, it will be understoodthat hole 31 may be provided in portion 105 or other parts of the towingvehicle with the swivel assembly 13 being fitted therein. Anotherarrangement is shown in FIG. 2 in which it will be noted that instead ofwelding support bracket 19 to portion 105, aligned apertures 107, 109are provided in support bracket 19 and portion 105. Then, the pin 111 ofa ball and pin assembly 113 is passed through the aligned apertures 107,109 and retained therein by the nut 115. The forward end 117 of supportbracket 19 is offset upwardly from the rearward end 33 of the supportbracket so that the forward end and ball 119 of the ball and pinassembly 113 is at a level spaced above the level of swivel assembly 13whereby a trailer tongue having a socket thereon engaged on ball 119will clear the swivel assembly during swinging movement of the trailertongue thereabove.

With this arrangement, it is not necessary to utilize the ball and pinassembly 17 and holder in the arrangement shown in FIG. 3 since the dualtype is provided by the arrangement of FIG. 2, that is, both the pintype and the ball and socket type.

From the foregoing, it will be understood that the user may use hisoriginal equipment, as ball and pin assemblies 17, 113, in combinationwith the other related parts of the present invention. Also, if one partwears out, it is not necessary to replace the whole unit. For example,if inner ring 27 and movable portion 21 were to wear out, they couldsimply be replaced by removing snap lock 51 and replacing this assembly.On the other hand, if it is desired to replace swivel assembly 13, thismay be quickly and easily done by removing snap lock 39 and replacingthe assembly.

Although the invention has been described and illustrated with respectto preferred embodiments thereof, it is not to be so limited sincechanges and modifications may be made therein which are within the fullintended scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A hitch for hitching a towed device to a towing vehicle comprising aswivel assembly, support structure means supported by said towingvehicle for supporting said swivel assembly, said swivel assemblyincluding a movable portion including a tubular portion and a roundedportion disposed around the outside of said tubular portion, a fixedportion mounted from said sup port structure and having an inner surfacecomplementarily shaped relative to said rounded portion for swivelinglyholding said rounded portion to permit universal swivel movement of saidmovable portion; holder means engaging said movable portion for holdingsaid movable portion in a fixed position; ball and pin assembly meansincluding a pin, a ball fixedly attached to the upper end of said pinand nut means threaded in the lower end of said pin for clamping saidholder means in a fixed position with said pin extending through saidtubular portion and said ball and nut means respectively engaging theopposite ends of said tubular portion and with said ball being adaptedto be engaged by a socket device on a trailer tongue of a device for thetowing thereof; said ball and pin assembly means and said holder meansbeing removable from said swivel assembly to convert said hitch into aswivel pin type hitch adapted to be used with a pin extending throughsaid tubular portion and apertures in the tongue of a device to betowed.

2. The hitch of claim 1 which includes upper and lower flexible cupsrespectively interposed between said fixed and said movable portionsadjacent theupper and lower ends of said swivel assembly to provideupper and lower enclosed chambers, and with said upper chamber includinga quantity of grease therein.

3. A hitch for hitching a'towed device to a towing vehicle comprising aswivel assembly, support structure means for support by said towingvehicle to support said swivel assembly, said swivel assembly includinga fixed portion and a movable portion including a tubular portionadapted to receive a pin therethrough for attaching a trailer tonguethereto to permit universal movement of said trailer tongue relative tosaid towing device, a ball adapted to receive a socket mounted on atrailer tongue for the towing thereof, means mountin said ball on saidsupport s ructure means in space relationship forwardly of said swivelassembly and at a level spaced above the level of said swivel assemblyso that a trailer tongue of a towed device having a socket thereonengaged on said ball will clear said swivel assembly during swingingmovement of the trailer tongue thereabove.

4. The hitch of claim 3 in which said support structure means includes abumper portion of the towing vehicle and includes a support plate havinga horizontally extending forward portion and a horizontally extendingrearward portion offset downwardly from said forward portion; and inwhich said. forward portion and said bumper portion are in overlappingrelationship and are provided with aligned apertures therethrough; andin which is said means mounting said ball on said support structureincludes a pin attached to said ball and extending through said alignedapertures and a nut threadedly engaged on the lower end of said pin forclampingly holding said support plate and said bumper portion together.

5. The hitch of claim 3 in which said support structure means isprovided with a vertically extending hole therethrough, and in whichsaid fixed portion includes an outer ring and an inner ring, said outerring extending through said hole, lock ring means removably retainingsaid outer ring in said hole, said inner ring being provided with aninner surface and being disposed concentrically in said outer ring andaround said movable portion, and lock ring means removably retainingsaid inner ring in said outer ring.

1. A hitch for hitching a towed device to a towing vehicle comprising aswivel assembly, support structure means supported by said towingvehicle for supporting said swivel assembly, said swivel assemblyincluding a movable portion including a tubular portion and a roundedportion disposed around the outside of said tubular portion, a fixedportion mounted from said support structure and having an inner surfacecomplementarily shaped relative to said rounded portion for swivelinglyholding said rounded portion to permit universal swivel movement of saidmovable portion; holdEr means engaging said movable portion for holdingsaid movable portion in a fixed position; ball and pin assembly meansincluding a pin, a ball fixedly attached to the upper end of said pinand nut means threaded in the lower end of said pin for clamping saidholder means in a fixed position with said pin extending through saidtubular portion and said ball and nut means respectively engaging theopposite ends of said tubular portion and with said ball being adaptedto be engaged by a socket device on a trailer tongue of a device for thetowing thereof; said ball and pin assembly means and said holder meansbeing removable from said swivel assembly to convert said hitch into aswivel pin type hitch adapted to be used with a pin extending throughsaid tubular portion and apertures in the tongue of a device to betowed.
 2. The hitch of claim 1 which includes upper and lower flexiblecups respectively interposed between said fixed and said movableportions adjacent the upper and lower ends of said swivel assembly toprovide upper and lower enclosed chambers, and with said upper chamberincluding a quantity of grease therein.
 3. A hitch for hitching a toweddevice to a towing vehicle comprising a swivel assembly, supportstructure means for support by said towing vehicle to support saidswivel assembly, said swivel assembly including a fixed portion and amovable portion including a tubular portion adapted to receive a pintherethrough for attaching a trailer tongue thereto to permit universalmovement of said trailer tongue relative to said towing device, a balladapted to receive a socket mounted on a trailer tongue for the towingthereof, means mounting said ball on said support structure means inspaced relationship forwardly of said swivel assembly and at a levelspaced above the level of said swivel assembly so that a trailer tongueof a towed device having a socket thereon engaged on said ball willclear said swivel assembly during swinging movement of the trailertongue thereabove.
 4. The hitch of claim 3 in which said supportstructure means includes a bumper portion of the towing vehicle andincludes a support plate having a horizontally extending forward portionand a horizontally extending rearward portion offset downwardly fromsaid forward portion; and in which said forward portion and said bumperportion are in overlapping relationship and are provided with alignedapertures therethrough; and in which is said means mounting said ball onsaid support structure includes a pin attached to said ball andextending through said aligned apertures and a nut threadedly engaged onthe lower end of said pin for clampingly holding said support plate andsaid bumper portion together.
 5. The hitch of claim 3 in which saidsupport structure means is provided with a vertically extending holetherethrough, and in which said fixed portion includes an outer ring andan inner ring, said outer ring extending through said hole, lock ringmeans removably retaining said outer ring in said hole, said inner ringbeing provided with an inner surface and being disposed concentricallyin said outer ring and around said movable portion, and lock ring meansremovably retaining said inner ring in said outer ring.